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Okay, as some places on web have determined, Batwoman has been pushed back to April. I feel I should comment on this and get some facts straight. Some think that this book was to launch last July, this was never the case, this was speculation on the part of some. The book was also never to launch in November either. The zero issue which came out at that time was never in the original plans, but was done as a bit of a reminder as requested by DC, and to set the stage, this of course took out time of the work already in progress. February had been decided on the launch date by the company with reservations about that from me. I felt that was a bit too soon in a realistic look at work progression. One of the reasons for this was that I had been seriously committed to making appearances around the world over this past year. I think maybe 3 months or more of work loss occurred during that time. I kept trying to point this out whenever discussions about schedule came up. When first discussing the launch date earlier last year we had originally wanted April 2011, and now ironically that is what we have. Only after solicits stating otherwise, causing some unnecessary frustrations. Added to this mix I was being asked to do covers for Batman Inc., which I was concerned about considering the schedule for Batwoman, this quickly added to the problem of not being able to launch in February. So I thought it best to bow out of the Batman Inc. project. Even though there has been issues raised in the scheduling and plans being jumped the gun on, DC acknowledges for the greater good of the project we need more time. I’m glad that they saw this was a good idea, this will help maintain a certain standard that we’ve already set in place. The work has been very intense on this so far. Haden and I have put a lot of time and detail into the plot to make it as strong as we can, going well beyond the first 2 arcs. We know where we want to ultimately take this, we know what we’d like to see happening in 2 years for this character, and have thought a lot about it. Things we are doing in the plot now will impact and have meaning for what is to come later. Same goes for the art, I want this to be at least as good as what came before. So in the daily grind of work, in terms of writing, the process of the script creation gets in the way of drawing quite often. I’m just sorry that solicits took place when they clearly shouldn’t have. I hope this gives more clarity to what has been going on.

Okay now that I’ve said what needed to be said, onto some visuals. Below are my 5 only covers for Batman Inc., without any of the fuss of the logo and text treatments…
Next up will be Batwoman covers in detail, sometime next week.

While it’s a bummer we won’t be seeing the series til April, your passion for the project is clear and I’m very excited to see what you and your team have in store for us and Kate Kane. All the best, JH!

Not surprised by the unfortunate delay or the overreaction by fans. Better to have the series launch delayed than to wait months between issues. That being said, I have to ask…How far are you and Haden in the script process? The last thing I, you or DC wants is for the book to be delayed when its Amy’s time to go. She’s a special artist and on some level it would be pain me to find out she’ll be behind.

Hey there Brandon
We’re working on the script for issue 7, so she already has issue 6 in her hands. Our plan is to stay on top of it so that she will be working on art for issues while I’m working on art for the rest of the first arc.

I would rather wait a few months for a creator that plots entertaining storylines, cares about the characters, creates a quality rogues gallery, and makes the pages pretty than have a comic I can read by February. I would love it if you could give us 100 pages every month but most importantly I want pages that are J.H. Williams III quality pages. Even if it means waiting.

Better to put out a delay than put out a piece you aren’t fully satisfied with.
I kind of anticipated this, I remember you mentioned being wary of the time-frame from the get go. Waiting is a drag, but I’m glad you’re getting the time you need.

The Batman Inc covers have been a lovely treat and I’m very much looking forward Batwoman #1 in April. I can’t wait to see what you guys have in store!

Hey there cheekster and Aria
Thanks for your understanding and support over the delay. Hearing that some of you have patience waiting for the work to be be it’s best possible really is gratifying. I hope you find it worth it when it does come out. I’ve seen the first issue colors by Dave. He has done an amazing job, as always.

I was bummed about the delay — for about 30 seconds — but very happy you and your crew are getting the creative time you need, and that DC “gets it,” for now anyways. The waiting will make the joy of actually reading it so much better!!!

BTW, isn’t that a familiar female crusader we love on the cover of Batman Inc. #4?

I’m sure your feeling a lot of pressure from the business side of things. Our culture/media/society is very much geared toward immediate gratification and entertainment. There is enough mediocre-decent stuff churned out every Wednesday. I, for one, know that when your art hits the shelves it will be something special.

Hooray for Batwoman in Inc #4! It only makes sense that Bruce’d call on her of course (especially given what happened in Batwoman #0), but its awesome to see that she’s being integrated, at least in a small way, into a big DCU book/event. Well done!

The Batman Inc covers are absolutely gorgeous, I thought they really set the tone for the new ongoing. I’ll be sad to see them go but I’ll always take a better and complete comic over pretty covers any day.

J3 – Thanks so much for the clarification of what was going on. Needless to say, it was a little stressful to get the cancellation notice indicating Batwoman 1 would not be available.

Speaking personally, I’d rather have a great book than something rushed into production ahead of time. My faith is in you and the new team, and if I have to wait – then that’s something great to look forward to.

Looking forward to seeing the breakdown of the Batwoman covers, but sincerely, these Batman covers look awesome.

Hey there prooker
Glad you liked the Batman Inc. covers, I had fun doing them. But I shouldn’t have allowed DC to distract me from the main work. I honestly thought that I was doing those covers because they really wanted it, so it was a sort of thing because who was asking for them why I did them situation. Thinking that there was going to be more understanding about the schedule than there was from editorial.

French fan here. Of course it was a bit of a disappointment to hear about the delay â€” especially since #1 would have shipped the day before my birthdayâ€¦ I was really looking forward to spending some quality time with one Miss Kate Kate as I hit the big three o! 😉 But, like all the other posters here, I’d much rather wait another six weeks or whatever and have a book that meets both the (incredibly high) standards you set with Batwoman: Elegy and our (therefore equally high) expectations. Besides, in the long run, what will it matter, that the series started later?
I’ll be missing your beautiful covers on Batman, Inc after #5, but here again â€” it’s a small sacrifice indeed for the sake of our favorite redhead.

Thank you for the clarification, anyway. And thank you so much for your amazing work!

Greetings from Paris,
Mathilde

PS: And I’ll be taking that Batwoman statue any day, too. But only when it doesn’t get in the way of your working on the series, of course. 😀

Hello there Mathilde
Thank you very much for the kinds words and the support, I appreciate it. Since you are from france you may appreciate that we’re listening to lots of French music right now! And an early happy birthday to you.

This will difintely be worth the wait. I get frustrated when fans get upset over one book being late. I would assume most fans read more than one comic per month, and can read another book one more time to fill the Batwoman gap until it begins.

When creators make an effort to get whole arc in the can before they start to come out I find that’s quite thoughtful on their part and the company they are working for.

So thanks for taking the extra time so that when it starts there are no delays and I for one will be there in April when Batwoman starts again!

When you put your name on something, it should be the very best it can, so I respect that you don’t want to sacrifice the integrity of the quality of the story and art just to get a book out. I wish more companies, writer’s, and artist felt this way.

You really didn’t owe anyone an explanation, but that you took the time says a lot about who you are, how much you value your readers, and how committed you are to the creative process.

I have no doubt you and your team will give 100% and make a success out of this book!

I’m a relatively new comic book fan (only started reading and collecting last year) and I’m happy to say that what got me first into comics was Batwomanâ€™s run on Detective Comics. I remember reading Elegy over and over again and being completely amazed by the beautiful art and interesting story within. So as you can expect, Iâ€™m super excited for Batwomanâ€™s ongoing series regardless of how delayed it is and Iâ€™m sure that when the first issue is finally released that it will truly blow our minds away.

P.S. – It would be great if you sold posters of your artwork. I would love to have a giant poster of Batwoman on my wall. 😀

Hey there Nicant
Thanks for your excitement over the work, and I’m thrilled that Elegy is the book that hooked you. That is very gratifying to hear. I hope you find at least half as much enjoyment from the next installments.

And yeah, posters would be awesome. I suggest you write DC and demand them.
🙂